The global financial-services company started with 60 employees on the fifth floor and anticipated reaching 135 employees this year.

However, the two floors can accommodate 250.

“We are anticipating success,” said Glen Skarott, deputy group financial controller, as the office opened.

Skarott, based at the company’s headquarters in Sydney, Australia, started the Jacksonville operation. He led the site search that ended in Jacksonville after the company considered 17 cities in five countries.

Skarott, Macquarie executives and city and business leaders announced in July 2015 the company had chosen Jacksonville as a global banking shared-services office.

The team provides finance, accounting, tax and regulatory support and other services to Macquarie functions in the U.S. and in some European markets.

Its U.S. headquarters is in New York and it has offices around the country. The United States is a large growth market.

In coming to Jacksonville, Macquarie agreed to create 123 jobs by the end of this year and pay an average wage of $64,356, in addition to benefits.

Skarott said 800 applications were made for the initial Jacksonville jobs.

The first 60 employees comprised 40 local hires and 20 transfers from Macquarie Group offices in London, Hong Kong, India, New York, Houston and Sydney.